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Bollywood Blockbuster ‘Baby’ Wraps up Shooting in Abu Dhabi in Collaboration with twofour54

Sep 28, 2014

Abu Dhabi has successfully hosted the production of a second high scale Bollywood film using the world-class services of twofour54 intaj where the shooting spanned over 10 days around different parts of the emirate, twofour54, the commercial arm of the Media Zone Authority, announced today.

Titled ‘Baby’ and directed by award-winning director Neeraj Pandey, the production of the film comes close on the heels of the soon to release ‘Bang Bang’ that was also shot in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

‘Baby’ has a stellar star cast including Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa and Taapsee Pannu. Due to make its world premiere on January 23, 2015, the movie is being produced by leading Indian production house, Friday Filmworks, which is responsible for hit movies such as ‘A Wednesday’, ‘Special 26’ and ‘The Royal Bengal Tiger.’ Baby is about a team of courageous Indian Intelligence Officers who embark on a mission to save millions of lives by unravelling the mystery behind a series of planned attacks against India.

Noura Al Kaabi, Chief Executive Officer at twofour54, said: "The film industry in Abu Dhabi is currently witnessing a steady growth, where we housed the production of four global blockbusters from both Hollywood and Bollywood in 2014 alone. This indicates the prestigious reputation that the emirate has established as a global production and media hub.

“Abu Dhabi is fast becoming the new hotspot for worldwide filmmaking. Apart from the diverse mix of locales that the emirate provides, unique initiatives such as the 30% rebate on all production projects filmed in the emirate serve as attractive incentives for filmmakers.”

Reiterating the film industry’s role in promoting and supporting the UAE’s tourism sector, Al Kaabi said: “Films and TV shows are among the most important and effective mediums for endorsing tourism attractions. We are glad twofour54 continues to contribute to Abu Dhabi’s ambitious tourism mandate.”

On his part, Indian superstar Akshay Kumar said: “Baby is not my first time filming in Abu Dhabi as we have earlier filmed scenes for other movies here. I would also like to announce that I will be returning to film another project in May 2015.”

He added: “Abu Dhabi’s geographical location, unique landscape and advancement in the film industry, in addition to the facilities provided and the ability to film in public areas are some of the factors attracting filmmakers to the capital of the UAE.”

Abu Dhabi has been immensely successful in drawing productions from all over the world. The combination of outstanding facilities, services, and financial support has made Abu Dhabi one of the world’s most attractive locations to produce television programmes and films.

Other major international film and TV productions to film in the emirate this year include ‘Deliver Us From Evil,’ ‘Fast and Furious 7,’ ‘Star Wars Episode 7,’ BBC’s ‘Top Gear’, Clacket Productions hit Syrian Drama ‘Al Ikhwa’ (The Brothers), and ‘The Bold and The Beautiful’.

‘Bang Bang’ by director Siddharth Anand is the first Bollywood production to be filmed in Abu Dhabi. It is set for worldwide release on 2 October, 2014.